The Competition
by EzioADF
Summary: Ezio and Federico get into a dramatic competition.


Picking a fight with Vieri de' Pazzi hadn't been on Ezio's agenda today. He was going to spend the morning dodging his tutor and hang around with his friends and create mischief. Then when the sun was setting, he would purchase some flowers, or steal them from his neighbor, and head out to see his beautiful girlfriend Cristina.

That all had changed when he had been sent on an errand by his mother and he had overheard some of Vieri's lackeys talking about how the Auditore were liars and traitors. That was all it took for Ezio to abandon his plans and round up all his companions. A message was sent to that _mascalzone _Vieri telling him to show his ugly face at Ponte Vecchio.

He had arrived with his own horde of men and they had fought. Ezio had hoped Vieri would suffer more injuries than him, but unfortunately it was he who had ended up with a large cut across his lip.

"Hold still." The doctor advised, but Ezio was still shaking with anger. It didn't help that his brother Federico was teasing him at the same time.

"You must do whatever you can to save that pretty face of his, dottore." Federico gibed. "It's his only asset."

"Fottiti!" Ezio cursed at his brother who chuckled.

"Almost done." The dottore said. He bent to look for another vial of medicine when his beaked mask grazed against Ezio's arm.

"Hey!" Ezio hissed and clutched his arm. "That hurt!"

"Perdonami." The dottore said and leaned closer to take a look. Ezio moved just in time before the beaked mask could poke his eye out.

"Watch it!"

"Si, baby brother needs all his features intact if he's to attract any pretty girls." Federico grinned.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Ezio scowled fiercely.

"Why are you so angry?" Federico asked a gleam in his light brown eyes. "You won the fight with my help. Vieri retreated with his dogs because I arrived just in time to help you."

"There we go!" Ezio snapped. "All you've been saying all this time is how you helped me and how if you weren't there I would have been pummeled to death. I had Vieri in my hands. I could have ripped his lying tongue out and punched his stupid face in."

Federico gave a derisive laugh. "Baby brother thinks he's so strong." He nudged the dottore who groaned. "If it wasn't for me, Vieri would have done more than inflict a cut on your skin. It was my advanced fighting skills that made him run with his tail between his legs."

"Pfft!" Ezio waved away then winced when the dottore put a burning ointment on his arm. "I knocked out more men before you even arrived. I allowed you to join in my fight since you had nothing else to do."

"Hah! Is that so?" Federico stepped closer.

"It is!" Ezio pushed his chest against his brother.

"Boys!" The dottore said wearily. "You both are giving me a headache with all your bickering."

"Prove it!" Federico said.

"How?" Ezio said, backing up so the dottore could bandage his arm. "Those men would have walked home now. Are we going to go to their homes and ask them?"

"Hah! The men you supposedly knocked out, must have gotten up and skipped home." Federico mocked. "Not the men I punched. They're probably still there crying for their mothers."

"Wha-how dare you!" Ezio felt the anger threatening to burst open his veins. He was so livid he could see white spots dancing in his vision. "Let us go check up on them now!"

"Will you just let me, bandage your arm!" The dottore yelled. "This two minute task has taken me twenty minutes."

Ezio shuffled his feet and blew a breath impatiently as the dottore finished bandaging his arm and gave him a vial of medicine. Then the dottore took out another vial from his pocket.

"I need more medicine?" Ezio asked.

"No, this is for me!" The dottore said, testily. "You fratelli have given me a migraine."

Ezio made a face and joined his brother who was already walking back to the bridge where the fight had taken place.

"There." Federico said, pointing at the men still lying on the ground. Some of them were getting up by using the pillars for support while others were bent over, clutching their stomachs and moaning.

Ezio made his way hurriedly to them. "Good, you all are still here."

The man closest to him, clutched at his torn cap to his face. "Don't hurt me!"

Federico came over and put his hands on his hips. "We won't hurt you." Then he looked at the others who were watching the brothers with fear in their eyes. "And we won't hurt any of you either if you answer our questions."

"Uh…alright…" one of them said.

"Bene." Federico said. "Now tell me, who punched you?"

The man looked up at him in bewilderment. His right eye was circled with a purplish-black ring and the corner of his mouth had a smudge of dried blood. "I-I d-d-don't remember. It happened so fast…"

Ezio sighed. "Would you say the punch you received was in this direction?" He punched the air diagonally. "Or like this?" He gestured an uppercut.

"Uh…." The man considered both options and shrugged.

"You!" Ezio went over to the one who was throwing up in the corner. "Which one of us beat you up?"

"What?" He asked and then turned away to throw up some more.

"You must have seen who punched you!" Federico asked impatiently.

"I..er…it was you." He pointed at Ezio who gave Federico a triumphant smile.

Federico turned sharply to the man behind him and grabbed his collar. "I remember beating you up. It was me that inflicted those injuries on you, right?"

"S-s-si." The man cowered.

"You are scaring him into lying." Ezio accused.

Federico let the man go and turned to the others. "Now whoever was punched and kicked by me, raise your hands."

The men, still sitting on the ground and clutching their limbs and faces, looked at each other.

"There was too much commotion. We don't remember everything that happened." One of them said.

Ezio came over and knelt beside him. "Hm…there is a cut on your nose. I do remember punching someone's nose."

"I punched someone's nose too." Federico said quickly.

"Alright." Ezio put his hands on the side of the man's face. "Now tell me, do you remember seeing a hairy knuckle coming at you, or nicely groomed hands?"

Federico looked down at his hands. "They are not that hairy."

"Shhh! He's concentrating." Ezio snapped.

Federico put a finger between the man's eyes. "That! See that! That's an indentation of a ring." He showed off his red stone ring and grinned. "That's mine."

Ezio huffed and got up. "Raise your hands, whoever was punched really hard." He said. "Clearly my punches were harder and more effective than yours."

"That man has an indentation of my ring on his skin!" Federico said, putting his hand out at the dazed man. "I am stronger than you. Obviously!"

A woman walked over then with a crying little boy in tow. "What are you doing here?" she asked one of the men.

The man in question had a scraggly beard and dressed in torn purple attire. When he saw the woman he trembled and got up slowly. "I was er…helping Vieri with something…"

The woman turned and screamed. "Antonia! Your husband is here as well."

Another woman with a veil covering her hair, rushed over and knelt beside a man lying on the street. "Dio! Is he dead?"

"Looks like there was a fight." The first woman said. When she stepped into the light of the street lamps, Ezio saw that the woman was heavily built and wore a disgruntled expression on her face. By the way her husband was cowering in her presence, Ezio could only imagine how powerful this woman must be.

Her hands looked thick and touch enough to punch or strangle someone.

"No, he's not dead." The woman said gruffly and turned to the brothers. "One of you beat him up, didn't you?"

"It was…it was…" Federico stammered and looked helplessly at Ezio. "She's one of mother's closest friend." He whispered. "She is sure to complain."

"Speak up, boy!" The woman chastised.

Antonia let out a cry. "Oh! My husband's money pouch is gone!"

Ezio gulped as the two women looked up at them.

"It was you, wasn't it?" The burly woman stepped forward and put her hands on her hips. "You both look familiar. Aren't you Maria's….?"

"No!" Ezio practically shrieked and turned on his heels and ran. Close at his heels, he heard Federico cursing under his breath.

They ran as far as they could, through the markets and down the stairs and then up, until they realized they had just run a circle and were making their way towards the angry women on the bridge.

Federcio grabbed Ezio's arm and pulled. "There." He pointed at the church. "We'll be safe there."

"The church will be closed." Ezio said, though running towards the building.

"I meant climb up the roof." Federico said and then put his arm out to stop Ezio. "Aspetta!"

"Why? Are they behind us?" Ezio turned all around him, almost spraining his neck from rotating his neck so much.

"Idiota! I was thinking we could have a little race." Federico said.

"Are you crazy?" Ezio cried. "Those women could come here at any moment."

"Is little brother afraid of losing again?" Federico teased.

"Again? Clearly I knocked out more men with my fists than you did."

"That was not proven." Federico said. "This race will prove our prowess."

Ezio relented. "Bene. To the top of the church?"

"Si. The first one is the best and strongest man." Federico said, getting ready to run.

Ezio put one leg forward and took his stance. "Deal!"

"Tre ... due ... uno…run!" Federico called and ran towards the stack of crates near the building.

Ezio paused for a second, studying the path his brother was taking and cocked an eyebrow. Turning right, he headed straight for the front of the church's building and began scaling it. Within minutes, he was on top of the roof, while Federico huffed and puffed, climbing from one rooftop to another.

When he finally landed on the roof, he fell to his knees and bowed his head in defeat. "You cheated!"

"No, I didn't!" Ezio said. "You never said we had to take a long route."

"That wasn't…" Federico shook his head and suddenly laughed. "Alright baby brother. You beat me fair and square."


End file.
